INTRODUCTION
The introduction to Song of Songs is perhaps more important than that of any other book in the Bible because of the problem that the church has had in interpreting its meaning. Song of Songs is patently a collection of ancient Hebrew love poems celebrating the experiences of a lover and his beloved as they taste the beauty, power, agony, and joys of human sexual love. Is that appropriate, however, for a book that is part of the Scriptures?
1. Background
Why is the Song of Songs included in the Scriptures? Its few references to a historically identifiable person (Solomon) and to known places (Jerusalem, En Gedi, Tirzah) show its Jewish provenance. But the usual marks of biblical literature—religious themes, institutions, and practices—are absent. There are no references to law, grace, sin, salvation, or prayer. In fact, there is not a single, indisputable reference to the Lord God in the text.
Yet Song of Songs has held a significant place in the affections of the synagogue and the church. In Israel the book came to be associated with the greatest Hebrew festival, being read on the eighth day of Passover. During the first fifteen centuries of the Christian church, most major Christian writers turned their attention to this little work. Neither Jews nor Christians have been able to ignore it.
2. Interpretation
Since the Song of Songs is in the sacred canon, how is it to be interpreted? No book in Scripture has had such varied treatment. One medieval Jewish commentator said that it is like a lock for which the key has been lost.
a. Allegorical
The oldest documented interpretation of the Song of Songs sees it as an allegory. An allegory is an extended metaphor and normally is not rooted in history or the real world but is drawn from the mind and imagination of the author. Its purpose is not to present real events related to identifiable places and persons, but rather to communicate spiritual truth of an abstract nature. Allegory is an old device in which there is a divorce between the obvious literal meaning and the “high” spiritual message. As an allegory, the Jews saw this book as a depiction of the relationship of the Lord to his chosen people, Israel. Many Christians have seen the Song primarily as a statement of the love relationship between Christ and the church, his bride.
There are problems, however, in accepting the Song of Songs as an allegory. First, nothing in the text indicates that the intention of the author was to allegorize. Second, the people, places, and experiences recorded seem to be real, not literary devices. Third, this little book does not have the narrative character—the clear progressive story-line—that we usually expect in allegory. The result of the use of the allegorical approach is that the Song of Songs has become to an unusual degree a field for fertile imaginations.
b. Natural
Occasionally through history someone has become unhappy with the allegorical treatment and has raised a voice for a more natural approach to the plain sense of the text. Until the modern era a price was usually exacted for such bravery. In the first century apparently some Jewish readers understood the Song of Songs literally. Some were even singing portions of it in their drinking houses. This evoked the wrath of Rabbi Aqiba who pronounced an anathema on such practices.
In the eighteenth century, an Anglican bishop suggested that the book actually tells us about the marriage feast of Solomon. The bride may well have been the daughter of Pharaoh. He accepted the Song as historical but was willing to see something typological here. Solomon, the king of Israel, took a Gentile bride and made her a part of the peopie of God. In this way he foreshadows that other King, the Prince of Peace, who would take from among the Gentiles a bride, the church. This approach helped prepare the way for the almost universal rejection of the allegorical approach in favor of the stance most commonly taken among biblical expositors in our own time (see next section).
3. Purpose and Message
Why is this seemingly erotic little book included in the sacred canon? The Bible does not see marriage as an inferior state, a concession to human weakness. Nor does it see the normal physical love within that relationship as impure. Marriage was instituted before the Fall by God with the command that the first couple become one flesh (Ge 2:24). Therefore physical love within that conjugal union is good, is God’s will, and should be a delight to both partners (Pr 5:15–19; 1Co 7:3).
The prospect of children is not necessary to justify sexual love in marriage. Significantly, the Song of Songs makes no reference to procreation. It must be remembered that the book was written in a world where a high premium was placed on offspring and a woman’s worth was often measured in terms of the number of her children. Sex was often seen with reference to procreation; yet there is no trace of that here. The Song is a song in praise of love for love’s sake and for love’s sake alone. This relationship needs no justification beyond itself.
Song of Songs, however, is more than a declaration that human sexual love in itself is good. The use of the marriage metaphor to describe the relationship of God to his people is almost universal in Scripture. From the time that God chose Israel to be his own, the covenant was pictured in terms of a marriage. Idolatry was equated with adultery (Ex 34:10–17). The Lord is a jealous God. Monogamous marriage is the norm for depicting the covenant relationship throughout Scripture, climaxing with the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
4. Authorship
Traditionally authorship of the Song of Songs was attributed to Solomon, due in part to the title, the six other explicit references to Solomon (1:5; 3:7, 9, 11; 8:11, 12), and the three references to an unnamed king (1:4, 12; 7:5). The case for Solomon’s authorship is not definitive, but the case against it is equally far from being sure. Fortunately, a knowledge of who wrote this little book is essential neither to its interpretation nor to an appreciation of its content. As a work of literature of singular beauty and power, it stands on its own feet. Like other works in the Bible, it is enough to know that it is part of our sacred canon.
EXPOSITION
I. The Title (1:1)
1 The title for this little book, “Solomon’s Song of Songs,” is taken from the literal translation of the first two words of the Hebrew text. It means “the greatest of all songs.” A comparable expression is found in the term “the Holy of Holies” (cf. Ex 26:33; et al.). The NIV correctly translates this “the Most Holy Place.” Similar superlatives are found in the expressions “King of kings” and “Lord of lords.” This immediately reveals the significance the author attached to his subject.
II. Courtship (1:2–3:5)
A. A Maiden’s Amorous Musings (1:2–4b)
2 The book begins with the girl expressing her deep desire for physical expressions of love by her lover. There is a fascinating shift of persons from the third person to second person in the first two verses. Such a change is not unusual in Hebrew poetry. It is as if the beloved begins with the wish in her own mind and then shifts unwittingly to speaking directly to him.
Significantly, the girl speaks first. She is not extremely diffident but seems to see herself as of equal stature with the male. She longs to express her love to him, and she wants him to reciprocate. There is a sense in which she is the major character in this poem. This is one of the aspects of this work that makes it unique in its day. Much more of the text comes from her mouth and mind than from his. It is more her love story than his, though there is no failure on his part to declare his love and admiration for her.
3 We are quickly introduced to the association of love with the most pleasant tastes and smells. Love is so delightful that it should be accompanied with all that is pleasant, like perfumes. The lover’s name is like “perfume poured out.” “Name” (GK 9005) speaks of her lover as a well-known person. The maidens love him. Our lover is obviously the object of wide-scale affection.
4a The beloved longs for her lover to take her away with him, and speedily. Her emotion is intense, and she longs to be able to act on it.
4b The second part of v.4 can be significant to the story-line in the Song. It may be a declared intention (as translated here, following the Hebrew) or an address: “Bring me into your chamber, O King.” The reference to “the king” suggests that we are really dealing here with a royal romance.
B. The Friends’ Praise (1:4c)
4c The third part of v.4 confronts us with an annoying change of persons. Who are the “we” here? The women of Jerusalem? The girl? Two things are clear: the love of these two merits praise, and the lover merits the popular affection in which he is held. Most likely the speakers here are the daughters of Jerusalem, i.e., the friends of the maiden.
C. The Maiden’s Self-Consciousness (1:4d–7)
4d The NIV is helpful here in including the last line of v.4 with this segment. Our maiden turns her attention to his public again: “How right they are to adore you!” The consciousness of these “daughters of Jerusalem” (v.5) and their affection for the maiden’s lover makes her apprehensive. Her question is not about his attractiveness. It is about hers.
5–6 The maiden is self-conscious about her darkness. Kedar was a territory southeast of Damascus where the Bedouin roamed. Their tents were made of the skins of black goats. She explains that her color is due to her exposure to the sun as she worked the vineyards for her brothers. She obviously is from a family where the girls had to work. Mention is made in the text of her brothers, a sister (see on 8:8–10), and her mother. She was compelled to care for her brothers’ concerns whether she cared for her own or not.
We notice a confidence in her about her own loveliness. There is an appealing modesty in our heroine; yet she is not overly diffident. Several times the separate emphatic first personal pronoun “I” is used (1:5–6; 2:1, 5; 5:2, 5–6, 8; 6:3; 7:10; 8:10). In every case it is the girl who is speaking. She is very much the appropriate match for the lover pictured here. The fullness with which the text presents her and the strength that she portrays make this little book most remarkable for its age and place in human history. The two lovers meet as equals.
7 The maiden next turns her attention to her lover and addresses him. The phrase “whom I love” is literally “whom my soul loves.” “Soul” (GK 5883) can be used as an equivalent for the personal pronoun “I [love].” This word always carries with it a deep sense of personal emotional involvement.
The maiden wants to know where her lover grazes his flock so that she can be near him. Yet she does not want to unduly expose herself. She does not want to be like “a veiled woman” beside the flocks of his friends. That is, she does not want to be mistaken for a cult prostitute (cf. Ge 38:13–15). She is not looking for any lover. She has made a commitment to one, and she wants to know where she can find him.
D. The Friends’ Admonition (1:8)
8 Next follows a response to the maiden: first, by the daughters of Jerusalem, to whom the maiden has spoken in the preceding segment (v.5); then by her lover (vv.9–11). Her uncertainty is met by the assurance that she is the “most beautiful” of all women (cf. 5:9; 6:1). The pronouns “you” and “your” are feminine singular; so we know there has been a shift in speaker, for the maiden would hardly be speaking to herself.
E. The Lover’s Praise (1:9–11)
9–11 In v.9 we confront for the first time the Hebrew word ra‘yah (GK 8299), translated by the NIV as “darling,” the NEB as “dearest,” and the NRSV as “love.” This word occurs nine times in the Song, used each time by the lover of his beloved. The root idea in the word is associate, companion, or friend. It develops a strong connotation of commitment and delight.
Modern Western readers understand “most beautiful” and “darling.” The next figure, though, is unexpected to us. The lover likens his loved one to a mare harnessed to one of Pharaoh’s chariots. We have forgotten how beautiful horses can be when compared to other animals. We are also unaware what valuable creatures they were in that ancient world. The ancient royal courts insisted on brilliantly caparisoning the horses that pulled the king’s chariot. The beloved’s jewelry, earrings, and necklaces make him think of such.
After the middle of the second millennium B.C., mares were never used to draw chariots. Pairs of stallions were used for the royal vehicles. The presence of a mare among such stallions could be the ultimate distraction. So our lover pays his beloved the ultimate compliment to her sexual attractiveness. That he relishes this thought is clear. He will provide her with the jewelry of silver and gold to match her natural charms.
F. The Fragrances of Love (1:12–14)
12 The maiden now muses in response to her lover’s affection and praise. The context up to now has been pastoral: flocks, herds, shepherds, and vineyards. Now it is of a table, expensive and exotic perfumes, spices from faraway places, and a king. The context is royal. This may be confusing to us because we do not usually associate shepherds and kings. But the Hebrew term for the rulers is “shepherds.”
The maiden ponders the impact of the presence or the memory of the one lover on the other and describes it in aromatic terms. She is like nard (“perfume”; GK 5948) to him. It is as if his table is surrounded by the most delightful fragrance—herself. Nard, an ointment derived from a plant that grew in northern and eastern India, was used as a love charm in the ancient Near East (cf. Lk 7:36–50). Her presence as a reality in his life surrounded him like a choice perfume.
13–14 The beloved’s impact on her lover was no greater than his on her. The consciousness of him brought sensations as real and as delightful as the smell of myrrh and henna blossoms. Myrrh, a resinous gum, came from trees in Arabia, Abyssinia, and India. It was highly prized in international trade and was used for incense (Ex 30:23), for perfuming garments of special people, for special occasions (Ps 45:8), for lover’s beds (Pr 7:17), for preparing girls for visits with Oriental kings (Est 2:12), and for embalming corpses (Jn 19:39). Henna was a Palestinian shrub, whose leaves were used to produce a bright orange-red cosmetic dye. It has been used in the Near East to color the hair, hands, and feet. Its blossoms were fragrant, and it is the smell of the blossoms the maiden refers to here.
The maiden’s consciousness of her lover sweetens her life the way the aroma of a sachet of perfume placed between the breasts makes a girl move in a cloud of fragrance. The thought or sight of him is as pleasant as the aroma wafted from a field of henna blossoms. Love has its own hallowing touch on all of life.
In this section the maiden’s pet name for her lover—dodi (“my lover”; GK 1856)—appears for the first time. Apparently this word best expressed her joy in him. She uses it twenty-seven times as she speaks to him or about him. Five times it is used by the women of Jerusalem as they speak of him. Four additional occurrences are in the plural (1:2, 4; 4:10; 7:12). In each case it seems best to translate the plural form as “love making.”
G. Love’s Exchanges (1:15–2:2)
1:15–2:2 Now the dialogue between the lovers quickens. Three times he speaks, and twice she responds. They are becoming more direct in their expressions of love. A common language is developing to show the mutuality of their love. He calls her “beautiful” (GK 3637); she responds with the masculine form of the same word: “handsome.”
The lover compares his beloved’s eyes to doves. She speaks of his manner as charming and delightful. These lovers live in a different milieu from ours. It is pastoral; so their metaphors are drawn from nature. Notice the extensive references to animals, birds, trees, flowers, and mountains. The site of their love making is among the cedars and firs, in all of their greenery. It hints of a return to Eden (Ge 2:18–25), with its simplicity, naivete, equality, and purity. It is as if this were the original couple.
H. Faint With Love (2:3–7)
3–7 The maiden now responds with a longer speech. Her senses are being stirred by his presence and the affirmations of his love. She finds herself feasting on it all. It is as if he is a tree that provides relief from the sun and delicious fruit for her hunger. Her satisfaction lies in him. And yet his nearness and his offering of love only intensify her desire. She is faint from it all. Her solution is not the removal of the desire that torments her. It is more food—raisins and apples—that will intensify that desire. She began with a desire for his kisses. Now she longs for his embrace. The beloved is being carried away by her passions. She relishes the joy. Yet she knows that love should have its own rhythm and its proper progression. Too fast too soon would spoil it all. So she adjures the women of Jerusalem not to encourage love beyond its right and proper pace. With the attention turned to the world beyond the two of them, the spell is for the moment broken and the first section (1:2–2:7) ends.
I. Love’s Rhythm (2:8–3:5)
1. A lover’s call (2:8–17)
8–17 We have seen thus far the beginnings of a free expression of love between a maiden and a man. The courtship has begun, and the desire for each other has been intense. She is weak with passion. At that point the protagonist, the maiden, appealed to the daughters of Jerusalem in her concern that the emotions of her and her lover not take them beyond the proper pace of pure love. So we now see them separated but longing for each other. Two poems (2:8–17; 3:1–5) make up this section. Again we find at the close of this division a plea for restraint.
This section is a good example of how tantalizing the Song can be for the interpreter. The maiden seems clearly to be in her own home in the city. She hears her lover’s voice as he comes to visit her. He is like a gazelle or a young stag in his energy and in his passionate desire to be with her. He stands outside and calls her to go into the country with him to enjoy the beauty of spring as nature erupts with the passing of winter.
But is it an actual visit by her lover? Or is this a poetic projection of the maiden’s own consuming desires for his presence? Regardless of how we interpret it, there is no way we can miss the trauma of true love with its ecstasy of longing and fear. The thought of his coming delights her. Her distance, like a dove in the clefts of the rocks, distresses him. He wants to see her form and hear her voice; for her voice is sweet, and her appearance is comely. Yet caution is called for.
Verse 15 raises questions over who is speaking and to whom. It seems that here we find a characteristic common to the moments of passion in these early chapters. Just as the two lovers are about to surrender themselves to each other and forget the world, attention is turned to the larger world; hence the addresses to “the daughters of Jerusalem” throughout the Song. The appeal is made here to outsiders to prevent “the foxes,” those forces that could destroy the purity of their love, from defiling their vineyards, which are blossoming. In 1:6 the maiden uses “vineyard” as a metaphor for her own person. So they plead for protection for the love that blossoms between them that nothing will spoil it.
The lovers may accept restraint on the pace of love’s development, but there is no denying that they belong to each other. Here we are tantalized by the questions of whether we are to understand the text literally or figuratively. There seems clearly to be a double entendre character that pulls a cloak over the details of the lovers’ love making—a metaphor in the service of the mystery and sanctity of sex! In 5:13 his lips are called “lilies.” Thus it seems that she may be ready for him to graze on her lips as sheep “browse” in lush grasses. Here it certainly seems fair to look for more than one level of meaning. Perhaps this is to be related to the opening wish of our young lady (1:2).
2. A lover’s seeking (3:1–5)
1–5 Our next poetic unit seems clearly to be a dream sequence. The lover is the maiden’s obsession night and day. So in a dream she seeks him. She goes about the city in the night asking those whom she meets about her beloved. She finds him and will not let him go until she has brought him into her mother’s home, into the very room where she was conceived. She is not looking for illicit consummation of their love. Consummation she wants, but even in her dream she wants that consummation to be right.
It may be that the reference to the maiden’s bringing her lover to her mother’s home reflects Ge 2:24, where the husband is to leave father and mother, but no like command is given to the woman. This passage may also reflect ancient Israelite marital customs now unknown to us (cf. Ge 24:67).
III. The Bridal Procession (3:6–11)
6–11 This unit is one of the most intriguing of all in the Song. It obviously is a wedding procession. The first problem has to do with who rides in the procession. The Hebrew suggests that it is the bride. There are indications that our hero comes from northern Israel, from Lebanon (cf. 4:8); the other geographical references support this. So our picture is of the groom and his men bringing his bride from her home to his city for the wedding.
The wedding “carriage” is identified as belonging to Solomon. In fact, it appears that he oversaw its building. His name has occurred only once before (1:5). It occurs three times in this brief section. It will not reappear until 8:11–12.
For the fourth time the daughters of Jerusalem are addressed. This time they are called “daughters of Zion,” an expression occurring only here in the Song (cf. Isa 3:16–17; 4:4). The singular “daughter of Zion” is used twenty-three times in the OT. It normally refers to Israel as a nation. This is the passage that most definitively attaches the Song to Israel. In fact, this is the only passage where the name “Israel” occurs.
In v.11 we are told that Solomon wears “the crown” with which his mother crowned him for his wedding day. This obviously is not a reference to his coronation, since the high priest presided at that (cf. 1Ki 1:32–48; 2Ki 11:11–20). This may suggest that, if the Song did come from Solomon, it originated before his crowning in his most innocent period.
IV. The Wedding (4:1–5:1)
A. The Beauty and the Purity of the Bride (4:1–15)
1–7 The bride has now come to the groom. The time for consummation has arrived. The bride in biblical fashion is veiled (cf. Ge 24:65; 29:23–25; 38:14), but her lover is now free to enjoy her physical charms. The result is an erotic physical inventory of the details of her beauty. The description of her is given in metaphors that may seem alien to moderns. But even then the power of this bit of love poetry is moving. Her sense of modesty is protected. His freedom is uninhibited. She is his, and what he sees is perfection. To him there is no flaw in her.
Eyes luminous as doves, hair glossy black, perfectly matched white teeth with none missing, lips scarlet, and cheeks touched with color like a sliced pomegranate make her an object of beauty that brings ecstasy touched with mystery. All this was veiled, but now it is his.
A long neck, which made her stately in appearance, like a prominent nose, seems to have been a mark of beauty in this ancient world. As was the custom, her neck was ornamented with layers of jewelry. Often these contained row upon row of beads or platelets like shields covering a tower. Her breasts had the grace and beauty that evoked tenderness like that produced by two fawns at play.
The lover’s metaphors permit a chasteness and a modesty that less poetic speech would preclude. So when he says that he will go to his mountain of myrrh and to his hill of incense, he is most probably referring to the breasts he has just described and the body that awaits him. The night gives covering for their love.
8–15 The beloved has come to her lover. Her beauty is overwhelming. She has captured his heart. He wants her to be his forever. The invitation “come with me” is literally in Hebrew “with me,” twice repeated. His desire is to have her with him.
For the first time the lover calls the maiden his “bride” (GK 3987). In ten verses (4:8–5:1) he uses this term of her six times. The focus of the word is on the married status of the woman, particularly on the sexual element presupposed in that status. The lover also calls his beloved his “sister” four times (vv.9–10, 12; 5:1). This is not uncommon in ancient Near Eastern love poetry as a love epithet.
The geographical references here are significant. They all speak of places in northern Israel. The indications are that the bride was originally from that area. Senir is the Amorite name of the Hebrew Hermon, the tallest peak (over 9,200 ft.) in the anti-Lebanon range.
B. Love’s Consummation (4:16–5:1)
1. Invitation (4:16)
16 The maiden now responds to her lover’s praise and his cry for her to cast her lot with him. The language is figurative; she picks up the metaphor that he has used of the locked garden (4:12). She invites her lover to enter her garden, make it his own, and enjoy its fruits. She calls for the north wind and the south wind to make her fragrances the more enticing.
2. Response (5:1a–d)
1a–d The language used here of love’s consummation is classic in its chasteness, a character possible only through use of symbolic language. The beauty of expression fits the holiest of all human relationships. Metaphor plays the same role here as the veil in the temple. Sinful people need such to protect the mystery.
3. Joy (5:1e–f)
1e–f This brief unit is a problem to most commentators. Who is speaking? And to whom? The NIV takes these words to be those of onlookers or guests encouraging the couple to enjoy their love. The kind of relationship that our two lovers now have is more than a private affair. What one does with one’s sexuality is from a biblical perspective always more than a private, personal thing. It has widespread social implications. Biblically, when a lover gives himself to his beloved as these two have done, the relationship of each has changed to all the rest of the human race. That is why traditionally in our culture a wedding cannot be performed without witnesses who represent broader society. The woman now belongs to the man and the man to the woman. This changes all other personal relationships. Furthermore, what one does with one’s sexuality is of concern to God (Ex 20:14).
The public aspect of marriage helps explain the presence of “the daughters of Jerusalem” (2:7; 3:5; 5:8, 16; 8:4). It also explains the role of the “friends” as seen in the NIV (1:4b, 8; 5:1c, 9; 6:1, 10, 13; 8:5, 8–9). Self-giving love between the sexes is of social significance. Society must know. How else can marriage be a witness and testimony to the relationship of Christ and the church? One Savior, one spouse! Again, one almost feels that the Song is a commentary on Ge 2:18–25 (see on 1:15–2:2).
This little unit bears witness also to the appropriateness of the festive character of weddings. Such joy demands that others rejoice.
V. The Life of Love (5:2–8:7)
A. Its Hesitancies (5:2–8)
2–8 The ecstasy of the preceding section is replaced by deep apprehension. What has been won seems now to be lost. This section most probably is to be taken like 3:1–5, as a dream sequence. Love brings its joys, but those joys are seldom unalloyed for long. We are such flawed and fragile creatures, and interpersonal relationships contain such subtleties. With our joys come fears. Often they surface in our dreams, arising from some sense of failure or fear of inadequacy.
So our maiden dreams that her lover comes for her. He comes knocking and calling. It is inconvenient for her to respond. She has already undressed, washed her feet, and is now in bed. She is slow to acknowledge his overture. Her hesitancy reflects a paralysis that we often experience both in dreams and in real life. Then the opportunity is gone. She finally rises to open to him, but he has departed. Love’s chance is lost.
This is a remarkable picture of the kind of adjustments that are necessary in lifestyle in marriage. Our natural sloth, the differences between a man and a woman, our uncertainty about the other’s thinking, the variations in our life rhythms, our unwillingness to alter our preferred patterns for the other, our own self-consciousness—all contribute to the problem of reading each other’s advances. The lover misunderstands and departs. She is sick now with longing for him.
The bride’s remorse and her love drive her out into the darkened city to seek her groom. The watchmen find her just as they did in 3:1–5. This time they are hostile. They beat, wound, and shame her. Does this treatment reflect the girl’s guilt and sense of failure at the slowness of her response to her husband? There is a realism in the Song that merits our respect. The course of true love seldom runs smoothly for long. For every moment of ecstasy, there seems to be the moment of hurt and pain. The openness that lovers experience with each other makes possible both extremes. Not even love can guarantee perfect performance in personal relationships. Time and humility help. Our poet is dealing with such in this passage.
The bride’s consciousness of loss and perhaps her feeling of blameworthiness drive her to call for her friends, the daughters of Jerusalem, to help. She urges them that if they find her lover, they are to let him know of her love for him.
B. The Friends’ Concern (5:9)
9 The request of our hurting bride to the daughters of Jerusalem evokes a query. They want to know what is so remarkable about her lover, how he differs from other grooms.
Our questions here are numerous. Does this report an actual conversation, or is this part of the dream? The probability of such a midnight conversation seems unlikely enough. Or are we dealing with a master poet who uses this literary device to give the maiden a chance to recount the attractions and charms of the groom?
C. Love’s Affirmations (5:10–6:10)
1. The beloved’s praise (5:10–16)
10–16 This is one of the few poems that has come down to us from the ancient world in which the female gives an inventory of the male’s features. Obviously it is her response to his description of her in 4:1–7. Her description witnesses to the uniqueness of this little book in its world in that it illustrates in its own way the equality of position and freedom that she enjoys. It is really her book (cf. Ge 2:18–25).
The bride sings. She sings of the handsomeness of her lover. Beginning with his complexion, ruddy and golden, and his hair, black and wavy, she descends from his eyes to his cheeks to his lips to his arms to his torso to his legs. The import is clear: he is one in ten thousand. She returns then to his mouth, which she finds to be a source of “sweetness” (cf. 1:2). In 2:3 she spoke of his fruit as sweet to her palate. He has spoken of her lips as dropping sweetness and honey. So she counters with the delights of his kisses (cf. Pr 5:3). His conclusion about her was that she was beauty without flaw (4:7) and sweetness itself. She counters with the fact that he is altogether desirable.
All this is addressed to the daughters of Jerusalem. She is speaking of her lover, her “friend” (v.16). The word “friend” (GK 8276) is the masculine counterpart of his regular designation of her (cf. 1:9, 15; 2:2, 10; 4:1, 7; 5:2). Its root meaning is “to associate with,” and it came to mean “friend” or “companion.” The Song is unabashedly erotic. Yet it is never satisfied to be content with the physical alone. A normal person finds the erotic ultimately meaningful only if there are trust and commitment, delight in the other’s person as well as in the body. The writer of the Song understands this. Our hero is her lover, but he is more: he is her friend.
2. The friends’ inquiry (6:1)
1 Now the daughters of Jerusalem inquire of the bride as to where her lover is. They want to assist her in finding him.
3. The beloved’s praise (6:2–3)
2–3 The bride’s response to the friends’ inquiry assures them that she has not really lost him. The anxiety in her dream was without foundation in reality. She is her lover’s, but he is also hers. And he now is browsing in his garden of spices among the lilies. In 5:13 she has described his lips as lilies that drip with myrrh. The erotic implications in this language seem clear. Her fears were unwarranted. As he possesses her, she possesses him.
4. The lover’s praise (6:4–10)
4–10 The lover speaks again in poetic ode about his beloved’s beauty. She is like a great city to be taken. Tirzah was an ancient Canaanite center that served as the capital of the northern kingdom before Omri (c. 879 B.C.) established Samaria as the capital. This reference is a strong indication of an early date for the origin of the Song.
The reference to Jerusalem is the only time the name occurs except in the phrase “daughters of Jerusalem.” It may seem strange at first for a lover to think of his bride as a great city. This figure is not unique, however, to the Song. The author of Revelation uses Babylon as a figure of a great prostitute and Jerusalem as the bride of Christ (Rev 18:2–19:3; 19:7–9; 21:1–2). Do we perhaps have in this metaphor an anticipation of the outcome of history for every believer?
The beloved is regal to the point of awesomeness. She appears like the dawn in its glory, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army with banners. She is more impressive than queens or royal concubines or virgins without number. The reference to queens, concubines, and virgins may well be a reference to the royal harem. She is without equal among women. Even the ladies of the royal harem acknowledge her superiority.
D. Love’s Questions (6:11–13)
11–13 This is a tantalizing section. The words are familiar. The meaning is another matter. Does this represent a momentary separation of the maiden from her lover as she or he goes to investigate the flowering of springtime? Or are we to look for a deeper, more erotic meaning here?
If v.11 is difficult to interpret, v.12 is more so. Perhaps the best approach is to see a momentary separation that leaves the bride yearning again for her lover. So the daughters of Jerusalem call for her to return. Whoever is speaking calls the girl “the Shulammite.” This verse with its two occurrences is the only place where this term is found in the OT.
In v.13 the bride responds to the guests who want to see her. She is modestly reluctant. She questions their desire. If she wonders why anyone would want to see her, she is to get an answer from her lover. The next unit is his description of her charms. It is a response to her description of him in 5:10–16.
E. Love’s Repetitions (7:1–9a)
l–9a The groom’s description of his bride begins with her sandals and feet and proceeds upward to the flowing locks of hair on her head. It should be compared with previous descriptions in 4:1–7; 5:10–16; and 6:4–10. This is the fullest detailing of her physical charms found in the Song.
Although the Song is really the bride’s song, there are three occasions when the groom describes her beauty in detail and only one where she reciprocates. If the Song has any allegorical significance, it should indicate that God finds us much more delightful than we find him. If this seems strange, it should be remembered that his love is pure and eternal. His capacity for love and joy is greater than ours even though the object of our affection is greater and infinitely more worthy.
This poem reflects the perpetual charm of the female form to the male. This song has been sung an almost infinite number of times. There is repetition here. Some of his figures are the same as those used in 4:1–15 and 6:4–10. But that is the nature of love. Our language has its limits. Our love pushes those limits and falls back in frustration at the inability of our words to communicate our ecstasy.
Even the beloved’s feet are beautiful. Her rounded thighs, like the work of some more-than-human artist, capture him. Her navel has its own allure. He would like to fill it with spiced wine and drink from it. Her belly is round and wheat colored. The reference to the lilies that encircle the stomach reminds us that we are dealing with figures whose very ambiguity enriches the eroticism of the passage. Her breasts are symmetrical objects of grace and beauty that evoke tender and solicitous response. Her neck gives her stature and impressiveness. Her eyes are like pools—luminous, clear, and deep. The nose adds to her stateliness. Her head and hair crown her. She is awesome and majestic as Mount Carmel. A king is held captive by her tresses. She is an object of beauty and loveliness, a treasure of delights.
In v.7 the groom sees his bride as a palm tree loaded with luscious fruits. He turns again to her breasts and lips to enjoy his possession. We should not miss the element of near-adoration in our lover’s depiction of his beloved nor be unmindful of the high value placed on the flesh in Scripture. The body is not an unworthy shell to be shucked in death. It is destined for resurrection. It may be the occasion for sin, but it can also be the very clothing of Deity, as in the Incarnation. If the devotion of our two lovers is but an imaging of the relationship of the true Bridegroom and his bride, it is fitting that there should be an almost noumenal air in the poetry.
F. Love’s Belonging and Giving (7:9b–13)
9b–13 Now the maiden responds. There is no holding back. She belongs to him. There is a primeval Edenic purity about all of this. Once again we are reminded of that first coupie that God gave to each other and commanded to be one flesh. We cannot keep from thinking of that context when she speaks of “his desire” (GK 9592) for her. This word is found in Ge 3:16 in reference to Eve’s desire for her husband. It is as if we are observing the Fall momentarily reversed. It obviously is a strong, almost overpowering, urge. His desire for her easily equals hers for him. She is at no disadvantage. She relishes the security of her relationship to her husband.
The bride’s joy and fulfillment are such that she is ready to get out into the fields and vineyards to let the common nature that flows in lovers and the cosmos rejoice together. “Mandrakes” were prized for their aphrodisiac properties. The joys the two now are experiencing in each other are but the beginning of raptures that she is prepared to bring to him.
G. Love’s Longing and Liberty (8:1–4)
1–2 The bride continues to speak about leaving the security of their bed chamber and going into the fields and villages with him. Yet she is reluctant to leave the freedom that they have behind closed doors to express their love for each other. The proprieties demanded in public seem limiting. She would like the liberty in public that the brother and sister in that day had. So she wishes she could freely kiss him in public. She would like to take him to the house of her own mother, to the very chamber where she was conceived, and there give herself to him.
There is no sense of wrongness about their love. She is reminded of her mother, who in a similar relationship gave to her the life that she now enjoys with her groom. Her joy in him strengthens her identification with her own mother who taught her. With all the strength of the union with her husband, there is still the consciousness that she is a woman. She longs for a woman with whom she can share, and the appropriate one is her mother. This is no indication of withdrawal from her spouse.
3–4 The bride yearns for her lover’s embrace. Apparently that yearning once more evokes the bride’s remark to the daughters of Jerusalem. Again we are reminded that we are social creatures inextricably bound up in a web of human relations. In this moment of deepest intimacy, when no prying eyes are wanted, she thinks of her mother and her friend. Her ecstasy she would share with her mother and her wisdom with the daughters of Jerusalem. Love has its ecstasy when it is right, but it also has its pain when it cannot freely express itself. It is the better part of wisdom, she informs her friends, not to permit love to be awakened until the time is right. Love like this should have no shadows or constraints.
H. Love’s Seal and Strength (8:5–7)
5–7 The drama is now almost over. The couple have followed her desire and now return from the trip into the fields and the villages. The friends, daughters of Jerusalem, spot the couple and call attention to them as they return. The bride leans on her lover.
The bride pays no attention to the call of the friends. She speaks only to her lover. She has not taken him to her mother’s home. He has apparently taken her to the site of his conception. There they have sealed more deeply their love. She speaks of the depth of that sealing. An engraved stone or metal seal was a mark of ownership in the ancient world. Possession of another’s seal indicated mutual access and possession. Her love is so total and so strong that she wants their mutual possession of each other to be as lasting as life. It is a strongly poetic demand for “until death do us part.” Better to die than to experience the failure of love that produces jealousy. Love’s demands are all-consuming. External forces cannot quench or drown it. Its value is greater than all the possessions one might ever possess. In all of human literature there are few passages on the power of love compared with this unit.
VI. Conclusion (8:8–14)
8–10 There is no consensus on the division of these final verses, nor is there agreement as to who is speaking and who is being spoken about. It seems most plausible to see vv.8–10 as coming from our heroine. She has now consummated her relationship with her beloved. She has tasted the mysteries of sexual love with her spouse. She is looking back with joy that she came to those sacred moments as a virgin. She thinks of her younger sister and longs for her to know the same joys that she now experiences. So she expresses her concern for the protection of her sibling.
This interpretation takes the expressions “wall” and “door” as antithetical rather than parallel. It sees “towers of silver” and “panels of cedar” as protective rather than as primarily ornamental. She with her groom commit themselves to guard her sister from the loss of something precious. She affirms vigorously that she kept herself chaste for her husband. Thus by keeping herself a virgin, she was as one “bringing contentment.”
11–12 Verses 11–12 are among the more tantalizing in the whole Song. Solomon is referred to again. This time, however, it seems clear that he is not the hero of the piece. The speaker, whether it is the bride or the groom, is contrasting his or her vineyard with that of Solomon’s. Solomon’s vineyard is large and fruitful, very impressive. It contains a thousand vines. Solomon must let it out to tenants to keep. They share in the produce. It is a very extensive operation.
Our hero or heroine is in a very different position. But he/she is not unhappy. His/her vineyard is his/hers alone. And that is enough to satisfy our spokesman. To possess one’s beloved is enough. It is to be wealthy beyond measure.
Is this passage a reference to Solomon’s harem with his 700 wives and 300 concubines? If so, the question then is as to the pay of the vineyard keepers. Or is the reference here to an actual vineyard? Because of previous references to a vineyard, which seems clearly to have a symbolical meaning, one is tempted to see this as a reference to the sexual personage of the maiden. Vineyard and garden seem clearly to be used to speak of herself in previous passages (see 1:6; 2:15; 4:12; 5:1).
There is always the possibility, though difficult for us, that the reference to Solomon’s vineyard is to be taken literally while the reference to the spouse’s vineyard is metaphorical (cf. Jn 2:19). That would be consistent with the double entendres of the book. However we interpret this text, it is clear that the lover’s concern is not for material wealth.
13–14 The closing two verses come from our groom and his bride. She seems to be in a garden with her friends. He calls to her. He wants to hear her voice. She who began the Song wishing for the kisses of his mouth answers. That response is in language used previously (cf.2:9, 17). She urges him to make haste and resume the delights of love. The figures of the deer and the mountain of spices symbolize for us for the last time the lover and his beloved. Restraints are gone. He is hers and she is his. They are free to pursue those delights of love that image a love to come for every believer.
The bride’s call to her groom to hasten may find an interesting echo in Rev 22:17. The heavenly call has always been that of the Divine Groom for a human bride. In the Song she invites him to come. In human history he invites her to come. Love, Divine Love, calls to love, and love responds.
“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
Old Testament Prophecies Fulfilled in Christ
| OT Text | NT Text | Subject |
| Ge 3:15 | Lk 22:53 | Satan against Jesus |
| Ge 3:15 | Heb 2:14; 1Jn 3:8 | Jesus’ victory over Satan |
| Ge 12:3 | Ac 3:25; Gal 3:8 | Gentiles blessed through Christ as the offspring of Abraham |
| Ge 13:15 | Gal 3:15–16, 19 | Messiah as the seed of Abraham |
| Ge 14:18–20 | Heb 7 | Jesus’ priesthood according to the likeness of Melchizedek |
| Ge 18:18 | Ac 3:25; Gal 3:8 | Gentiles blessed through Christ as the offspring of Abraham |
| Ge 22:18 | Ac 3:25; Gal 3:8 | Gentiles blessed through Christ as the offspring of Abraham |
| Ge 49:10 | Lk 1:32–33 | Coming ruler from Judah |
| Ex 12:1–14, 46 | Jn 19:31–36; 1Co 5:7; 1Pe 1:19 | The Messiah as the Passover Lamb |
| Ex 16:4 | Jn 6:31–33 | Messiah to give true bread from heaven |
| Ex 24:8 | Heb 9:11–28 | The Messiah’s blood to be shed as sacrifice |
| Lev 15:15–17 | Ro 3:25; Heb 9:1–14, 24; 1Jn 2:2 | Atoning sacrifice of blood |
| Nu 21:8–9 | Jn 3:14–15 | Life through looking at one on a cross |
| Nu 24:17 | Lk 1:32–33 | Coming ruler from Jacob |
| Nu 24:17 | Rev 22:16 | Coming star out of Jacob |
| Dt 18:17 | Jn 6:14; 12:49–50; Ac 3:22–23 | Coming prophet sent from God |
| Dt 21:23 | Gal 3:13 | Messiah cursed for hanging on a tree |
| Dt 30:12–14 | Ro 10:6–8 | Jesus is God’s word near to us |
| 2Sa 7:14 | Heb 1:5 | Messiah to be God’s Son |
| 2Sa 7:16 | Lk 1:32–33; Rev 19:11–16 | David’s Son as eternal king |
| 1Ch 17:13 | Heb 1:5 | Messiah to be God’s Son |
| 1Ch 17:14 | Lk 1:32–33; Rev 19:11–16 | David’s Son as eternal king |
| Ps 2:7 | Mt 3:17; 17:5; Mk 1:11; 9:7; Lk 3:22; 9:35; Ac 13:33; Heb 1:5 | God’s address to his Son |
| Ps 2:9 | Rev 2:27 | Messiah to rule the nations with power |
| Ps 8:2 | Mt 21:16 | Children to praise God’s Son |
| Ps 8:4–5 | Heb 2:6–9 | Jesus lower than the angels |
| Ps 8:6 | 1 Co 15:27–28; Eph 1:22 | Everything subject to God’s Son |
| Ps 16:8–11 | Ac 2:25–32; 13:35–37 | David’s Son to be raised from the dead |
| Ps 22:1 | Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34 | God-forsaken cry by the Messiah |
| Ps 22:7–8 | Mt 27:29, 41–44; Mk 15:18, 29–32 Lk 23:35–39 | Messiah mocked by a crowd |
| Ps 22:18 | Mt 27:35; Mk 15:24; Lk 23:34; Jn 19:24 | Casting lots for Jesus’ clothes |
| Ps 22:22 | Heb 2:12 | Jesus to declare his name in the church |
| Ps 31:5 | Lk 23:46 | Messiah to commit his spirit to God |
| Ps 34:20 | Jn 19:31–36 | Messiah to have no broken bones |
| Ps 35:19 | Jn 15:25 | Messiah experiencing hatred for no reason |
| Ps 40:6–8 | Jn 6:38; Heb 10:5–9 | Messiah to do God’s perfect will |
| Ps 41:9 | Jn 13:18 | The Messiah’s betrayal by a friend |
| Ps 45:6–7 | Heb 1:8–9 | Characteristics of the coming King |
| Ps 68:18 | Eph 4:7–11 | Ascension and giving gifts to humans |
| Ps 69:4 | Jn 15:25 | Messiah experiencing hatred for no reason |
| Ps 69:9 | Jn 2:14–22 | The Messiah’s zeal for God’s house |
| Ps 69:21 | Jn 19:29 | The thirst of the suffering Messiah |
| Ps 69:25 | Ac 1:20 | Judgment on the Messiah’s persecutor |
| Ps 78:2 | Mt 13:34–35 | Messiah to speak in parables |
| Ps 102:25–27 | Heb 1:10–12 | Characteristics of the coming King |
| Ps 110:1 | Ac 2:34–35; 1Co 15:25; Eph 1:20–22; Heb 1:13; 10:12–13 | Jesus exalted in power at God’s right hand |
| Ps 110:1 | Mt 22:41–45; Mk 12:35–37; Lk 20:41–44 | Jesus as Son and Lord of David |
| Ps 110:4 | Heb 5:6; 7:11–22 | Jesus’ priesthood after Melchizedek |
| Ps 118:22–23 | Mt 21:42–44; Mk 12:10; Lk 20:17–19; Ac 4:10–11; 1Pe 2:7–8 | Rejected stone to become capstone |
| Ps 118:26 | Mt 21:9; Mk 11:9; Lk 19:38; Jn 12:13 | Messiah to come in the name of the Lord |
| Isa 6:9–10 | Mt 13:14–15; Mk 4:12; Lk 8:10; Jn 12:37–41 | Hearts to be closed to the gospel |
| Isa 7:14 | Mt 1:18–23; Lk 1:26–35 | Virgin birth of the Messiah |
| Isa 8:14 | Ro 9:32–33; 1 Pe 2:7–8 | A stone over which people stumble |
| Isa 9:1–2 | Mt 4:13–16; Mk 1:14–15; Lk 4:14–15 | Ministry to begin in Galilee |
| Isa 9:6–7 | Lk 1:32–33 | David’s Son as eternal king |
| Isa 9:7 | Jn 1:1, 18 | The Messiah to be God |
| Isa 9:7 | Eph 2:14–17 | The Messiah to be a man of peace |
| Isa 11:1–2 | Mt 3:16; Mk 1:16; Lk 3:21–22 | Branch of Jesse (David) to receive the Spirit) |
| Isa 11:10 | Lk 1:32–33 | Root of Jesse (David) as coming ruler |
| Isa 11:10 | Ro 15:12 | Salvation to be available for Gentiles |
| Isa 22:22 | Rev 3:7 | Jesus to receive the key of David |
| Isa 25:8 | 1Co 15:54 | Death to be swallowed up in victory |
| Isa 28:16 | Ro 9:32–33; 1Pe 2:6 | Messiah to be the chief cornerstone |
| Isa 35:5–6 | Mt 11:4–6; Lk 7:22 | Messiah to be a mighty worker of miracles |
| Isa 40:3–5 | Mt 3:3; Mk 1:3; Lk 3:4; Jn 1:23 | Jesus’ forerunner, a voice in the desert |
| Isa 42:1–4 | Mt 12:15–21 | Messiah as the chosen servant of the Lord |
| Isa 45:23 | Ro 14:11; Php 2:10 | Every knee to bow before the Messiah |
| Isa 49:6 | Ac 13:46–47 | Messiah as a light to the Gentiles |
| Isa 50:6 | Mt 27:26–30; Mk 14:65; 15:15, 19; Lk 22:63; Jn 19:1, 3 | Beating God’s servant |
| Isa 50:6 | Mt 26:67; Mk 14:65 | Spitting on God’s servant |
| Isa 53:1 | Jn 12:38; Ro 10:16 | Israel not to believe in the Messiah |
| Isa 53:3 | Jn 1:11 | Messiah to be rejected by his own people |
| Isa 53:4–5 | Mt 8:16–17; Mk 1:32–34; Lk 4:40–41; 1Pe 2:24 | Healing ministry of God’s servant |
| Isa 53:7–8 | Jn 1:29, 36; Ac 8:30–35; 1Pe 1:19; Rev 5:6, 12 | Suffering Lamb of God |
| Isa 53:9 | Heb 4:15; 1Pe 2:22 | The sinless servant of God |
| Isa 53:9 | Mt 27:57–60 | Messiah to be buried in a rich man’s grave |
| Isa 53:12 | Mt 27:38; Mk 15:27–28; Lk 22:37; 23:33; Jn 19:18 | God’s servant numbered with transgressors |
| Isa 55:3 | Lk 22:20; 1Co 11:25 | Everlasting covenant through the Messiah |
| Isa 55:3 | Ac 13:33 | Blessings of David given to the Messiah |
| Isa 59:20–21 | Ro 11:26–27 | Israel’s Deliverer to come from Zion |
| Isa 60:1–3 | Mt 2:11; Ro 15:8–12 | Gentiles coming to worship the Messiah |
| Isa 61:1–2 | Mt 4:16; Mk 1:10; Lk 4:18–21 | The Messiah anointed by the Holy Spirit |
| Isa 65:1 | Ro 10:20 | Gentiles would believe in the Messiah |
| Isa 65:2 | Ro 10:21 | Israel would reject the Messiah |
| Jer 23:5 | Lk 1:32–33 | David’s Son to be a great King |
| Jer 23:6 | Mt 1:21 | David’s Son to be Savior |
| Jer 23:6 | 1Co 1:30 | Messiah to be named “Our Righteousness” |
| Jer 31:5 | Mt 2:16–18 | Rachel weeping when God’s Son is born |
| Jer 31:31–34 | Lk 22:20; 1Co 11:25; Heb 8:8–12; 10:15–18 | Jesus and the new covenant |
| Jer 32:40 | Lk 22:20; 1Co 11:25 | Everlasting covenant through the Messiah |
| Jer 33:15 | Lk 1:32–33 | David’s Son to be a great King |
| Jer 33:16 | Mt 1:21 | David’s Son to be Savior |
| Jer 33:16 | 1Co 1:30 | Messiah to be named “Our Righteousness” |
| Eze 21:26–27 | Lk 1:32–33 | A rightful crown for the Messiah |
| Eze 34:23–24 | Jn 10:11, 14, 16; Heb 13:20; 1Pe 5:4 | The coming good shepherd |
| Eze 37:24–25 | Lk 1:32–33 | Messiah to be David’s son and a king |
| Eze 37:24–25 | Jn 10:11, 14, 16; Heb 13:20; 1Pe 5:4 | The coming good shepherd |
| Eze 37:26 | Lk 22:20; 1Co 11:25 | Messiah’s everlasting covenant of peace |
| Da 7:13–14 | Mt 24:30; 26:64; Mk 13:26; 14:62; Lk 21:27; Rev 1:13; 14:14 | The coming of the Son of Man |
| Da 7:27 | Rev 11:15 | The coming everlasting kingdom of the Messiah |
| Da 9:24–26 | Gal 4:4 | Timetable for the Messiah’s coming |
| Hos 11:1 | Mt 2:14–15 | Jesus to return from Egypt |
| Joel 2:28–32 | Ac 2:14–21 | God’s Spirit to be poured out |
| Am 9:11–12 | Ac 15:13–18 | Gentiles would believe in the Messiah |
| Jnh 1:17 | Mt 12:39–40 | Messiah to be three days and nights in grave |
| Mic 5:2 | Mt 2:1–6 | The Messiah to be born in Bethlehem |
| Mic 5:2 | Lk 1:32–33 | The Messiah as an eternal king |
| Mic 5:4 | Jn 10:11, 14 | The coming shepherd of God’s flock |
| Mic 5:5 | Eph 2:14–17 | The Messiah to be a man of peace |
| Zec 9:9 | Mt 21:1–9; Mk 11:1–10; Lk 19:28–38; Jn 12:12–16 | The coming ruler on a donkey |
| Zec 11:12–13 | Mt 27:1–10 | Thirty pieces of silver for a potter’s field |
| Zec 12:10 | Jn 19:37; Rev 1:7 | Looking on the pierced Messiah |
| Zec 13:7 | Mt 26:31; 26:55–56; Mk 14:27; 14:48–50 | Striking the coming shepherd; the sheep flee |
| Mal 3:1 | Mt 11:7–10; Mk 1:2–4; Lk 7:24–27 | The forerunner to the Messiah |
| Mal 4:5–6 | Mt 11:14; 17:11–13; Mk 9:11–13; Mk 9:11–13; Lk 1:16–17 | The forerunner as Elijah returned |